OPELIKA, Ala. – Thanks to a bogey-free, five-birdie round on Sunday, Auburn men's golf freshman Brendan Valdes leads the Tigers after round one of the Tiger Invitational at Grand National.
With a career-low 5-under-par, 67, Valdes found himself in third place on the individual leaderboard heading into Sunday's second round of play.
As a team, Auburn sits in second place, seven strokes behind the tournament leader, Florida Gulf Coast. The Tigers shot 7-under, 281 through the opening 18 holes. Junior Austin Coggin joined Valdes in shooting below par with a 2-below, 70 mark of his own.
"Today was a beautiful day," Tigers head coach Nick Clinard said. "The weather was perfect, and the golf course was playing great. I thought the second round played a lot harder than the first round did, but our guys really hung in there. We hit a few loose shots and didn't make a few putts that we probably should've made, but I like where we're trending, and I think we're going to continue to get better and play our best golf when it matters most."
In an effort to outplay impending weather later in the week, all teams immediately began the second round of play following the conclusion of the first. Of 16 total teams, only three managed to complete the second round before the day was called due to darkness.
Auburn's first lineup capped round two with a 5-below-par, 283 score. Sophomore J.M. Butler led the squad in the middle round, firing a 4-under, 68 to push his total 36-hole total to 140, 4-under. Valdes followed his first frame with a 70, 2-under outing to sit at 7-under, 137 heading into his final 18 holes.
Auburn's "B Team" wrapped round one with a 5-over, 293 tally to finish ninth in the team standings. Leading the squad was junior Alex Vogelsong who shot par in his opening stanza.
UP NEXT
Groups that did not complete the second round will resume play in a shotgun start at 8 a.m. CST while round three will begin shortly after with the first tee time at 9 a.m. CST. Valdes will lead off for Auburn once more on the first hole at 9 a.m. CST.
| Placement | Golfer | R1 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Brendan Valdes | 67 (-5) | 67 (-5) |
| T8 | Austin Coggin | 70 (-2) | 70 (-2) |
| T21 | Evan Vo | 72 (E) | 72 (E) |
| T21 | J.M. Butler | 72 (E) | 72 (E) |
| T29 | C.J. Easley | 73 (+1) | 73 (+1) |
| 2 | AUBURN | 281 (-7) | 281 (-7) |
| Placement | Golfer | R1 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| T21 | Alex Vogelsong | 72 (E) | 72 (E) |
| T29 | Max Johnson | 73 (+1) | 73 (+1) |
| T38 | Ryan Eshleman | 74 (+2) | 74 (+2) |
| T38 | Carson Bacha | 74 (+2) | 74 (+2) |
| T55 | Hal Dove | 76 (+4) | 76 (+4) |
| 9 | AUBURN (B) | 293 (+5) | 293(+5) |